


Of Magebane and Magic

by TheExecutioner0496



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Drug Addiction, Dysfunctional Family, Former Mage!Hawke, M/M, Magebane, Suppressed magic, Swearing, Underage Smoking, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-13 02:08:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9101623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheExecutioner0496/pseuds/TheExecutioner0496
Summary: As the son of an Apostate with a mother whose blood line only adds to Malcom's own magic infused linage it was assumed that one, if not all, of their three children would show signs of magic. Carver had been lucky, he had escaped the family curse, but Bethany and Garret showed the signs at early ages. Malcom and Leandra agreed that having three mages in one family was too dangerous, and now Bethany doesn't remember a time when Garret hasn't been smoking his odd, bitter smelling cigarettes and Leandra is oddly silent on the topic of why her eldest child gets massive headaches if he goes too long without them or why he can do strange things that no other Rogue seems capable of.





	1. Accidents Happen

At the time Aveline hadn't even thought it strange that Garret Hawke had been smoking a cigarette while helping his family try to outrun the blight. The bitter scent the cigarette had given off was easily drowned by the smell of burning hair and the unforgettable Darkspawn taint. Thinking back on it now, however, she'd be the first to say that it was certainly not normal, especially with how Hawke normally seemed to keep his priorities reasonably in check. As Garret began to gather more friends in his attempt to journey into the Deep Roads with Varric and the man's brother the growing group of allies began to pick up on it as well. Varric even asked Hawke personally what was in the cigarettes and after some persuasion Garret had given an honest answer; magebane. Fenris and Aveline had been with them at the time and Fenris nearly tripped over himself at the mention of a herb grown specifically because of its ability to block a mage's magical abilities. 

"Why would a Rogue be smoking magebane almost 24/7?" Aveline asked after she ensured Fenris wouldn't fall flat on his face and Garret's expression suddenly became withdrawn and guarded, a rare thing from the usually soft hearted man.   
"I've done it for years, Aveline, and besides, what does it matter? It doesn't effect how I fight or alter my thinking capabilities." Garret stated and his tone made it clear that he wanted the subject dropped. Varric looked like he was going to say something before the air around the entire group seemed to thicken and charge with an electrical current just before Fenris' tattoos lit up, a sign that magic was being used nearby. Fenris, Varric, and Aveline went for their weapons but Hawke shuffled around with his belt before pulling out a cigarette and turning away from them for a moment only to turn back with the cigarette lit. He took a deep pull and seemed to relax a bit before exhaling. "Come on, you guys, I want to go find that Dalish clan before dark, I promised Bethany I'd play Wicked Grace with her before she retired to bed and I keep my promises." Garret ordered sternly and the magic in the air was already fading away as if it had never been there. For once no one argued with him and moved to follow his lead instead, but it was just the first incident where Hawke had shown that maybe his odd cigarettes were more than the annoying addiction they originally seemed to be. 

~~**~~**~~

Hawke had apparently finished gathering all the allies he could both inside Kirkwall and in the mountains beyond, including one Dalish blood mage, of all things. Varric had sent word to everyone that he wanted them to meet in his room at the Hanged man, something about Hawke being injured. When Hawke's safety was involved it tended to get everyone in one room without someone trying to kill someone else for once in a blue moon. Only once they were all crammed into Varric's room at the dingy bar in Lowtown did the dwarf start explaining the situation. 

"Ever since Aveline asked Hawke about those cigarettes he smokes all the time I've been wondering why he reacted so strangely to the line of questioning. I'm sure you all can agree that Hawke isn't the type to get hostile so easily, right?" Varric asked as he tried to approach the subject carefully and catch everyone up at the same time. After all, Hawke tended to avoid bringing their mage allies, Merrill and Anders, onto their adventures around the city with him for whatever reason. He seemed to get along with both of them just fine, but rarely spent too much time at once near them. 

"That's an understatement, from what little Aveline has told me he seemed to shut down almost right away when she asked him about it, and we're also talking about the same man who went into a panic attack because he thought his mabari ran away only to break down into tears when it was later revealed that his sister had been taking it for a walk. The man is so soft hearted that I find it astounding that he didn't run away when he faced down demons beside Fenris after the two first met." Anders sighed before said elf spoke up. 

"He looked as if he was in pain during that particular mission, actually. He also constantly made us pause so he could have a smoking break, which was rather irritating at the time and looking back on it I now find it odd. When one is surrounded by demons intent on killing intruders you'd think he'd have a smoke break lower on his list of priorities." Fenris interjected and Varric took the chance to speak up again. 

"Exactly! Well put, Broody!" Varric chirped in a proud tone before moving to shuffle through a stack of papers he had near his bed only to come back with what looked like handwritten notes. "I asked around some of my contacts as to why someone would be smoking magebane cigarettes and they all gave me the same answer. Suppressing magic, because that's all magebane does. Now, the next question is a bit more complicated. Magebane is often an ingredient in poisons made to either kill or weaken magic users, so I asked around to see if it could have long term negative effects on the user's health." Varric explained and Anders was the first to interrupt. 

"Wait a minute, Varric, are you trying to hint that Garret Hawke is actually a mage trying to suppress his own magic with poison?" Anders demanded harshly and there was a flare of blue in his eyes that hinted that it wasn't just Anders who was getting upset. "Why in the Maker's name would he do that? I know a lot of people see magic as a curse but I've seen the effects magebane has on the body, I can already tell you that smoking it the way that Hawke smokes his cigarettes can and will eventually kill him." 

"If you'd let me /finish/, Blondie, I was going to say that I haven't gotten word back from my contacts on that, however, Bethany came by the Hanged Man earlier saying that Hawke has suddenly gotten real sick with no warning. However, his mother has been telling her all day that he'll be fine, that he gets sick about once a month anyways. It sounds to me like Leandra has seen Garret go through this before, and she finds it normal while his younger sister doesn't. I've got a theory that Hawke doesn't smoke poison plants because he made his own choice to do it, I'm thinking that his parents had a role in him starting the habit and encouraged him not to stop. After all, Hawke's father and sister were both apostates in Fereldan, can you imagine how hard it would be for two apostates, let alone three, keep themselves a secret when they lived in a small town with a Chantry a stone's throw away from their front door?" Varric asked and this time it was Aveline who answered. 

"It'd be nearly impossible, the Lothering Chantry was very careful in watching the town's residents for signs of rogue mages. In such a small village everyone knew everyone else, it was like one large family, and you protect your family. If they suspected that a member of that unoffical family was an Apostate it would've gotten very ugly very quickly." Aveline sighed and the whole group was quiet before Fenris broke the silence. 

"We don't know for sure if this is as dangerous, or as... messy as it appears. Perhaps Varric is wrong in his assumptions, Hawke may have started to smoke magebane on his own and merely because magebane was easier for him to access in Lothering than something like Elfroot or Spindleweed. We need to know more facts before we condemn his very mother for poisoning her son willingly." Fenris huffed before giving Anders a dirty look. "And we also can't suddenly just start believing that Hawke is actually a mage as well and I doubt if our resident Abomination just waltzes up to him and asks that he'd take to it well. We should simply keep an eye on his behavior after he recovers and also try and learn more about his relationship with both Leandra and Bethany." 

Fenris held some good points about them reacting too soon without enough information but his jab at Anders did spark an argument between the warrior and mage that ended with Aveline holding Fenris back while Varric had to talk Justice down after the spirit had taken over the host body it inhabited and tried attacking Fenris. Once the crisis was averted the group split up and Merrill offered to monitor the hovel in Lowtown where Hawke and his family now lived with Leandra's brother. When the sun set she'd switch out with Fenris and from there they'd simply start taking shifts on both following and monitoring Hawke when the man wasn't dragging three of them out on some sort of adventure. It was nearly a week before Hawke actually left the hovel without someone there to help him walk, but he seemed paler and really lethargic. It was Varric's shift on watch duty so he shadowed the Rogue and learned that Hawke had left the hovel to go buy some magebane plants from Lady Elegant and some shoddy parchment from one of the local merchants before heading straight back home. He probably had been running low on the plant and needed to buy more. Two days later and Hawke was back to normal again, acting like nothing had gone wrong in the first place. The first thing he did was drag Fenris, Aveline, and Varric to the Wounded Coast to fight some Qunari, or more specifically, Tal Vashoth for a dwarven merchant Hawke had run across prior to him getting sick. None of his companions missed that during a skirmish, however, Hawke's daggers suddenly seemed to be cloaked in fire without him applying any sort of salve to the weapon prior. He'd been cornered by three of the horned mercenaries and his allies had been too far to help, but by the time Fenris had been able to catch up to the rogue Garret had been lighting up yet another cigarette and the mercenaries lay dead on the ground. After that one incident, however, the rest of the mission went relatively smoothly. Hawke decided they'd swing by the Docks tomorrow afternoon before he bid them goodbye to head home. That night it was Fenris who took up night watch over the hovel that Garret was now forced to call home and frowned at how silent the place seemed. He resigned himself from watching from a distance, however, because to get closer would alert Garret to his presence and the last thing they needed was for Fenris to let Hawke know they'd been spying on him because the elven warrior got a bad feeling. By the time morning came and Fenris had switched places with Aveline, however, it became clear that his bad feeling had been well warranted when Bethany came out of the hovel in a rush and headed straight to Anders' clinic in Darktown.


	2. The Fade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After falling ill Hawke did not wake no matter what his family did one morning and in desperation his sister Bethany turns to apostate Anders in Darktown despite her mother's warnings that her big brother would be fine. This results in Aveline and Fenris moving Garret into Anders' clinic while they act on the theory that Hawke is, in fact, a mage by going into the Fade to find him.

"Anders!" Bethany's voice called out through the closed door of the mage's clinic. The sun had barely even risen yet and usually Anders wouldn't open his clinic this early. However, he woke with a start at the sound of that familiar voice. He rolled out of his cot in the back behind a stack of crates before tugging his robes on and went to answer the door. He opened the door and gave the younger Hawke a confused look before stepping aside to let her enter. She closed the door behind herself and looked absolutely frantic. "Anders, something is wrong with Garret, he won't wake up, Mother and I have been trying everything!" She explained quickly and Anders felt the last traces of sleep leave him while Justice flared up in response to his fear.   
"Like a mage stuck in the Fade?" Anders asked bluntly and Bethany looked taken a back before nodding.   
"I didn't think of it that way before, but yeah, it's exactly like that! I got stuck in the Fade once when I was still young and untrained, and Father had to go in the Fade to find me. But, Anders, Garret can't use magic, he can't enter the Fade like you and I can." She murmured and Anders shook his head before gently ruffling her hair.   
"We'll help him, Bethany, don't worry, but I don't think your mother will want us doing it. If you can lure Leandra out of the house I can send Fenris and Aveline to bring Garret down here. Maker willing we'll have him back and moving around by this evening." He murmured with a gentle smile before stepping back. She looked both worried but also relieved before nodding.   
"Alright, I'll do it, Mother was talking about wanting to go look at some hat shop in Hightown anyways, and there's no way Garret would take her. But... be careful. My brother is important to me but he'd never forgive me if he found out I turned to you guys for help, he's such a worry wart like that." She chuckled shakily and Anders' smile brightened.   
"Oh, I know, and I assure you that I won't tell him. Your secret is safe with me, now go on, I need to set up." He assured her before herding her back out of his clinic. Once she was gone he sighed and recognized Justice's concern about entering the Fade. He hadn't done so in his waking hours since their joining and he didn't know how it would effect them but this was Garret they were talking about. As much as Justice disapproved of Anders' growing crush on Garret he did agree that if Garret was hurt or killed Anders' focus on their cause would fracture and Anders himself would loose a part of him.   
~~**~~**~~**~~  
Fenris had been with Aveline outside of Hawke's home when they were informed by Varric on what they needed to do. So the trio waited nearby until Fenris saw Bethany leaving the hovel with both Leandra and Garrets mabari, Barkspawn, in tow. Aveline entered the hovel first, and one look from her was enough to ensure Gamlin wouldn't interfere while Fenris found Garret and picked him up in a bridal carry. The rogue's breathing was shallow and uneven and Fenris was fairly certain his heart rate was also too fast. The elf's eyes softened in worry but thankfully Aveline and Varric both were wise enough not to mention that small detail and instead watched his back as Fenris brought him out of the hovel and into Darktown. Anders' door was open but the lantern was not lit, but the door was soon shut and locked behind them once everyone was inside. Anders had set up what was similar to the Circle's harrowing ritual but he'd had to substitute a lot of things, including the amount of mages that would be present, the lack of templars, and the limited amount of lyrium. The last bit was going to be more of an issue than anything else, however, but that's where Fenris would hopefully come in.   
"This looks like something circle mages would use." Aveline noted while Anders instructed Fenris to lay Hawke inside the little circle of candles he had set up in the middle of his clinic, though the elf was suspicious as all hell even as he did so.   
"It is, actually. You guys have to remember that I was actually raised and trained in a circle originally, after all. I passed my harrowing like every good little Circle mage, so I know what the harrowing looked like and how it worked. Of course, we're just sending people into the Fade, we're not purposely shoving demons in them." Anders explained and before Fenris could say anything he waved a hand. "No, no, no, don't even start, that's what the Harrowing was, it was to test a mage's willpower against a demon in the Fade. That won't be an issue here, the issue is if you're willing to enter the Fade with us, Fenris."   
"Why would I want to enter the Fade with an abomination when we aren't even fully certain that's where Hawke is right now? That sounds like a recipe for a disaster if I've ever heard one, and I've heard a great many in my time." Fenris hissed and Anders had to take a deep breath before relenting.   
"I only have so much lyrium, if you want the honest answer. To put more than one person into the Fade you need more lyrium to do it. I'd go alone if I trusted myself to be able to handle it, but I don't, so I figured that hopefully you might be willing to come with me for Hawke's sake. Due to your tattoos I don't need extra lyrium to send you with us. I can't, however, guarantee if demons and spirits won't be lured to you once you're there. Justice used to say that lyrium had a song to it, something only he could hear. You'd have to ask him for specifics, though."   
"You don't trust yourself? What is exactly is the reason that you don't trust yourself, Anders?" Aveline asked sternly and Anders rubbed at his face.   
"I haven't entered the Fade while awake since well before I joined with Justice, in fact, since the one time I entered the Fade with the Warden Commander in the Black Marsh where we met him in the first place. I can't even begin to predict what doing so now will do to me, to us, so I can't promise it's going to be me once I'm there. Justice isn't overly fond of Hawke in the first place so it's safer if someone is there to keep him in check in case I can't do it myself." He admitted and Fenris made an irritated growl.   
"Fine, I'll go just to ensure that your pet demon does not risk killing Hawke within the Fade. Maker only knows what would happen to him if that occurred. Now let's get this started before I change my mind. Varric and Aveline can watch and ensure that no templars enter and find us doing this." Fenris huffed and both Aveline and Varric didn't so much as complain about their suddenly assigned roles.   
~~**~~**~~**~~  
"I wish Father was here, I never was trained to do this, to survive this." Garret muttered sullenly from where he was sitting on some make shift hill within the Fade. He had no clue where he was, per se, but it was the Fade. There was no genuine locations in the Fade, just demons or spirits that 'ruled' specific areas. So far he'd run across as desire demon, a pride demon, and even on envy demon of all things. They'd tried to communicate with him but then they sensed something from him that forced them to recoil as if Hawke was something tainted, diseased even. In a way he was, and for that he was some what glad, if it meant they left him alone. He looked around, seeing the Black City far in the distance, before he realized why this place looked oddly familiar. It was the hill in Lothering where the mill was supposed to sit. That realization got him to stand up and begin to explore warily. When he reached the area where town began his surroundings started to shift and lopsided buildings began to form. The tavern, the Chantry, the houses, the small river, the stone bridge over it, everything. His body relaxed at the familiarity around him in spite of the odd shapes and alien plants. Then people began to appear, some looking more human than others, and a smile crept to his features. It wasn't home, it was a far cry from it, but it was just close enough that he was less tense and panicked than before. He wandered over to the Chantry and entered the large building, curious to see if it was similar to what he remembered.   
~~**~~**~~**~~  
"Are you sure we're even going the right way, Demon?" Fenris asked for the fifth time since they'd entered the Fade and found that it wasn't Anders standing beside him but rather the spirit of Justice that had joined with the former Warden.   
"For the last time, Mortal, I am not a demon and yes, we are going the right way. I would recognize Garret's aura anywhere, and if you stop probing me with questions then we would locate him faster. You are more distracting than I had anticipated and it's difficult to hide you from nearby spirits and demons to ensure you do not attract unwanted attention." Justice growled in irritation and Fenris shot him a dirty look.   
"I'm well aware that my branding seem to fascinate demons of all stripes, but if you so much as move to touch me I'll ensure you regret it." Fenris snapped before Justice shushed him and came to a stop. Fenris looked up at what the spirit was staring at only to frown at the small... village they faced. Then he felt a wave of relief when he heard a familiar laugh from within the village that belonged to only one person. He gestured to Justice before making his way forward, forcing the spirit to either follow him or go his own damn way.   
~~**~~**~~**~~  
Be proud of your magic, he would always tell Bethany growing up. Chin up, one day you'll be more skilled than even Father. Little did she know that she wasn't the only magically gifted child Malcolm had. Garret sighed at the memories before looking up at Lothering's children playing together in the Chantry yard. Bethany was among them, four years old, her raven hair flowing behind her as she giggled happily. When he'd entered the Chantry there hadn't been any templars, there'd been his father teaching Bethany to create an ice wall in clear sight of other children and adults. They'd smiled and greeted him like nothing was wrong so he just went with it. Bethany's smile was so open, so happy, so... carefree. He couldn't find it in himself to question the lack of templars for fear of ruining that happiness. Instead he'd managed to ask his father and the answer was that Lothering was a haven for mages, a place to be safe and practice magic openly. There was an alarm system for when the templars searched the area so the children could be hidden and the adults would protect the town. Garret focused on the children playing in front of him again before the eerie sound of a war horn sounded nearby. He stood quickly, looking around before taking the hand of a nearby Chantry sister, one he remembered as Sister Liliana, and told her to take the children inside while he helped his father. Soon enough the town was barren of life save for his father and himself standing at the border near the tavern while two men approached. To Garret they wore full templar armor, shields ready and swords out. Garret's clothing changed to a deep blue set of mage robes and in his hands, rather than his daggers, he was holding his father's old golden staff with the figure of Andraste at the top.   
"Leave now or face the consiquences." Garret ordered sharply and the templars hesitated in their approach before Garret shifted and slammed his staff into the ground, the air around him thickening with magic. "This is a safe haven, templars are not permitted here." Garret felt Malcolm's approving gaze on him but didn't dare turn to look at him right now.   
~~**~~**~~**~~  
"Templars? Is he talking to us?" Fenris asked as he glanced over at Justice. They'd found Garret alright, but the man had a staff in hand, one he didn't even recognize as one the man owned, and behind him was a Desire demon, practically preening with sucess. Justice growled lowly in anger the the sight of such a demon manipulating someone so important to Anders.   
"The demon is making him see us as templars, see us as a threat. Whatever is happening here is the demon's doing. It has taken something Garret wants and twisted it to its purposes. Clearly Garret desires to be the mage he was born to be, to do so in safety, but has never been able to. This demon recognizes it, and is taking advantage of it. I do not know if I can break it's illusion but I can try." Justice explained before Fenris drew his broadsword and turned to face Hawke.   
"Garret is an untrained mage, I can keep him busy without hurting him while you focus on making him see some sense, demon." Fenris sighed and this time Justice didn't argue the fact that Fenris once more called him a demon and instead started to gather up the pure spirit energy of the Fade from around them while Fenris pruposely approached Garret.   
~~**~~**~~**~~  
Fire and Ice answered to Garret when one of the templars approached while the other seemed to be preparing a dispel aura or maybe even a mana drain. He kept using blizzard and fire storm to try and cut down the templar preparing behind the first but his aim was terrible. Garret swore someone was saying his name, a voice he should recognize, but Malcolm helped him push those thoughts aside while he gave Garret tips and pointers to help him aim his spells better, to focus more on where he was striking. Whenever his mana became dangerously low he suddenly felt a rush of energy from absolutely nowhere and figured it was his father's doing. What he hadn't been prepared for was the sudden strike of a sword's pommel to his temple, catching him off guard and stunning him for a moment. The templar disarmed him just before his partner suddenly did... something. It wasn't anything he was expecting, but it was as if a thick mist was forced out of his mind and from in front of his eyes. Suddenly Garret was sitting in the middle of the Fade again, surrounded by ugly structures that were alien to him and behind him was not his father, but a desire demon. In front of him was Fenris and... Anders? No, that's what Anders looked like when Justice was in control. Suddenly Garret stood up and caught Fenris in a hug, realizing it was him that had hit him. Fenris made a noise of surprise and his tattoos flared to life, an instinctual reaction to being rushed, before he sheathed his blade and awkwardly hugged Garret back while Justice faced the desire demon.   
"You no longer hold sway over him, Demon. You would do best to leave before I think better of this act of mercy." Justice warned and the demon shrieked in anger before looking once more at Garret.   
"You cannot protect him forever, Justice, he will return to the Fade once more eventually. When he does it doesn't have to be me who will find him, but it will be someone." The demon warned and left before Justice could live up to his threat. Garret shakily stepped away from Fenris before suddenly grabbing Justice's wrist and tugging him into a hug too. At least now he was wearing his familiar leather armor with two daggers hooked to his belt at his waist. Justice was faster than Fenris in returning the hug, mostly due to his time around the odd woman that was the Warden Commander and also being connected to Anders.   
"I can't believe you two came to find me, and you didn't even kill each other while doing it! I'm..." Garret's voice trailed away with what sounded almost like a sob before he tried again after pulling away from the spirit with a shaky smile. "I mean to say thank you. I don't know what that demon did to me, but I'm glad you were here to help. Can you take me home?" He glanced over to Fenris as well. "Both of you?" Fenris and Justice met gazes before they both sighed at the same time before also agreeing in sync. For Garret it seems they'd do plenty of things they normally wouldn't.   
~~**~~**~~**~~  
Garret sat up with a startled gasp and he found himself to be laying in the middle of a circle of candles inside of Anders' clinic in Darktown. On either side of him was Anders and Fneris, both who seem to have woken before him and were glaring at each other. Garret groaned as a headache immediately started forming from the lingering magic in the air and he laid back down only to shuffle at the various pouches along his belt. Then he was pulling a cigarette and Anders scowled.   
"Are you serious, Garret? I know what Justice saw there, and you know that only a mage can be aware while in the Fade." Anders huffed and Garret glared before forming flames in his bare hand only to use them to light his cigarette before allowing the fire to dissipate.   
"I know full well that I'm supposed to be a mage, Anders, but I'm also a damn good rogue. I'd rather keep that little secret away from my younger sister, so I use magebane daily. My mother and father had me start smoking at the age of seven, in fact." Garret muttered and even Fenris frowned slightly. Garret took a long pull of his cigarette before exhaling in a sigh. His headache would go away soon, and tension was already leaving his shoulders. "That being said, I still owe you two a huge debt for coming to save me while I was in the Fade. I'm not trained to handle myself there, and the only other time this happened Malcolm was around to help me. I was twelve years old, and I'd tried to break my smoking habit because of how sick I would get from it. Turns out that it was a very bad idea, and Malcolm was furious with me after he got me free. I'd been trapped by a Pride demon, and it was more dangerous than the desire demon you two found me with. He had to destroy it to get me free. I must not have been smoking often enough lately for this to occur."   
"Why did you never mention this to us, Hawke? I mean, I know you haven't known us nearly as long as your family but we care about you." Aveline murmured from where she had been keeping post by the clinic's doors with Varric.   
"If he needed to tell us, Red, he would've. It's not exactly like most people would be comfortable to admitting that their parents were having them smoke poison at a young age just because they had too many mages in the family. Now it seems like it's an addiction." Varric pointed out with a shrug and Garret laughed.   
"Thank you! Now, if you guys don't mind, I have a headache, so hush. I wanna lay here for a bit and smoke my cigarette." Garret stated in a tired tone before letting his eyes fall closed. He didn't see the sympathetic look Fenris gave him, or the scowl marring Anders' expression. Fenris knew what it felt like to rely on something that would easily kill him, while he was a slave he had relied on Denarius like that. Anders was simply angry that Hawke's own family would do that to him even if he technically understood their reasoning. As apostates they already needed to be careful due to Malcolm and Bethany. Adding Hawke to that list would make it just that much harder, but it still wasn't right. In the end they dropped the subject and Garret had gone through three cigarettes before he felt stable enough to leave the Clinic. Fenris insisted on following Hawke and Varric into Lowtown and was beside Hawke when Garret got home. Leandra had stayed in Hightown to buy a few things they needed but Bethany was there. It was early evening now but she lit up brighter than the sun itself when she saw her big brother. Garret braced for it when she ran towards him and spun her in a wide arc with a warm laugh before beginning to stroke her hair gently while she sobbed and kept cursing him for scaring her like that. She then turned her attention to Fenris and hugged him too, catching the elf off guard but the amused look Garret got made the man sigh before he hugged the female mage warily. She kept murmuring her thanks to Fenris, knowing he'd been part of the reason her brother was awake and home again. By the time she actually calmed down Hawke had lit up yet another cigarette and the sun was finally sinking behind the horizon while Leandra walked up with Barkspawn and a few bags of groceries. She greeted Fenris with a surprised look before turning to her eldest.   
"Garret, invite your friend inside, or have you forgotten your manners? I'm going to make supper." She chided and Garret had the grace to blush before tapping the ash from the end of his cigarette and shooing Bethany towards the door so he and Fenris could talk in private.   
"Mother seems to like you, Fenris. She probably thinks you're a good influence on me, to be honest." He sighed before giving Fenris a lopsided smile. "So, how about it? Want to stay for dinner? Mother makes the best stew and Bethany has a shining for you too. She probably thinks you're a hero, a knight in spiky armor." He joked and Fenris smacked him over the head, only making the human laugh. "I'll take that as a yes, so come on!" Garret snickered before taking Fenris by the hand and dragging him inside. Gamlin was less than pleased by the elf's presence but one glare from Fenris ensured the man just grumbled quietly in the corner rather than genuinely bothering them.


End file.
